Park Bench Restoration

I found this old bench on CL for $15. It was not far from heading to the landfill. Unfortunately, I can’t figure out what happened to the before pictures that I took, but this project had seen better days. Originally, the iron work had a thick coating of rust on most areas and the wooden slats were completely rotten and a couple were broken.

The restoration began by removing the 3/4” oak seat and back slats. While the oak had been durable, it was terribly weathered and the demolition required only minimal effort. The screws and bolts were rusted beyond removal and salvage. I saved a couple of the better slats to use as templates for the new ones. Once reduced to its pieces, I used a wire brush chucked in a hand drill to remove the rust. It took a good deal of time due to the heavy rusting, but the iron work underneath looked great! Priming and painting with Rustoleum outdoor spray cans returned the pieces to their past glory. (By the way, it appeared that the bench was never originally painted as I never encountered any paint during the rust removal.)

The new seat and back are bald cypress milled to 13/16” (the largest size allowed by the iron work) and rounded over with 1/4 or 1/2” bits depending on the board location. The cypress is finished with 3 coats of General Finish outdoor clear sealer. For under $50 I have a great old bench made new again!

I hope this inspires you to save something and make it new again. Enjoy!